Not applicable.
Not applicable.
In the marketing of food substances appearance has become an increasingly important factor. Coloring has been employed historically to provide a food substance color appearance that coincides with consumer expectations. More recently, food coloring has been used less conventionally to produce unnatural or surprising food appearances. Providing visual entertainment is increasingly becoming a critically important aspect of a food""s commercial success, particularly in the novelty and children""s food segments.
Manipulations of a food""s visual appearance currently include ingredients that change a food""s color when used. There are products such as chocolate and strawberry powders or colored sugars which change the color of an aqueous solution, such as milk, to the same color as the powder or sugar. These products are employed in a variety of applications, from coloring yogurt to a candy which stains the mouth. However, a product which presents one color and induces a color change in a food substance to a second color while still continuing to present the first color would provide additional visual attractions which were not previously possible. Food products providing further variations in color changing effects are also desirable.
The present invention described herein is a separate product for utilization in a variety of foods. In accordance with the present invention these foods"" appearances are initially determined by their individual natures. The color altering effects of the present invention operate upon these foods"" initial appearance to both alter the foods"" appearance and to provide a color-altering effect to moisture containing foods the product contacts.
An object of the present invention is to provide a food product which presents an appearance of one color while inducing a contribution of a second color to a moisture containing food substance the product contacts.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a food product which initially presents an appearance of a first color and, upon contact with a food substance containing moisture, contributes the first color to the appearance of the food substance while the product""s appearance changes to a second color.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a food product which presents a plurality of colors in its appearance and, after contacting a moisture containing food substance, either alters the food substance""s appearance by contributing a plurality of colors, alters its own appearance by changing the plurality of colors it presents or both.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a food product in accordance with any of the first three objects where the color altering process is controlled to progress at a selectively determinable rate upon contact with moisture, and wherein the rate of color alteration may differ for different colors.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a food product in accordance with any of the first three objects where the response to moisture color altering effect of the food product is controlled to occur only following exposure of the product to a temperature exceeding a selected temperature.
A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a food product which upon contact with moisture in a consumer""s mouth effects color alterations of multiple intermixing colors so that during the consumption of the product, the consumer""s mouth is colored in varying manners.